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April 25, 2004

NEW ORLEANS - Tulane offensive standouts J.P. Losman and Mewelde Moore became the first pair of Green Wave players selected in the same NFL Draft since 1989 as selections of the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings, respectively, as the professional football selections were completed Sunday. Losman was a first-round choice, and the 22nd pick overall, of the Bills Saturday, while Moore was selected 119th, in the fourth round by the Vikings on Sunday.

"I'm excited for both J.P. and Mewelde to continue their professional careers," said Green Wave Head Coach Chris Scelfo. "I'm also excited about both of them leaving Tulane with degrees. They both exemplify the term student-athlete and have achieved at the highest academic and athletic levels.

"I talked to both of them. J.P. is excited about the opportunity at Buffalo and Mewelde is anxious to go in and show that he should have been a first day guy."

Losman became the third straight Tulane quarterback to be drafted and the second straight Green Wave starting signal caller to go in the first round, following in the footsteps of Shaun King, who was selected in the second round (50th overall) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1999, and Patrick Ramsey, a first-round choice (No. 32) of the Washington Redskins in 2002. As the No. 22 pick in the draft, Losman is the highest Tulane selection since halfback Tommy Mason was the number one overall pick in the draft in 1961.

Losman, who threw for 3,077 yards on 251 completions with 33 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as a senior, was the Bills' second first-round selection after the organization traded up to select the Tulane senior. In return for Dallas' first round pick at number 22, the Bills gave the Cowboys its second and fifth round choices in the 2004 draft, as well as its first round choice next year.

"It's not any added pressure that I put on myself. But definitely the organization is showing me how much confidence they have in me," Losman said. "It's my duty to step up to the plate and perform to the best of my abilities."

"I'm no different than any other first-year quarterback," Losman said. "I think the best situation is to go in, learn the ropes for a year or however long the coaches think I need."

The Venice, Calif. product who earned his degree in classical studies from Tulane in December is the second quarterback the Bills have taken in the first round, joining Jim Kelly, the No. 14 pick in 1983. He's the first quarterback Buffalo has drafted since selecting Todd Collins in the second round in 1995.

Buffalo Bills' general manager and president Tom Donahoe said Losman had several qualities which attracted the team.

"(We liked) his arm strength and his competitiveness," Donahoe said. "We're in a competitive business and we want people that want to go out there and lay it on the line every time they go on the field. If they are not successful we want them to be upset. He is a leader. We think he has a heck of an arm and he's a good athlete. He's a quarterback that can move around and throw the ball on the move."

Scelfo said Losman's selection continues to build the quarterback tradition at Tulane.

"With our last three starting quarterbacks selected in the first two rounds of the draft, we've established a standard that's very high at that position at Tulane University," Scelfo said. "You have to give a tremendous amount of credit to (quarterback coach) Frank Scelfo with the job he's done developing these last two (Losman and Ramsey). I think the tone is set that to play quarterback at Tulane you will get a lot of responsibility and gain a lot of valuable experience."

Moore is the Tulane and Conference USA all-time leading rusher and all-purpose back with 4,364 rushing and 6,505 all-purpose yards in his career. The Baton Rouge, La. native set 24 school and seven C-USA records during his career and ranks 11th on the NCAA Division I-A all-purpose list. He is one of just two players in Division I-A history to record more than 4,000 rushing and 2,000 receiving yards in his career and compiled 22 career 100-yard games. He also ranks third all-time at Tulane in catches and caught passes in 42 of 44 career games.

"Mewelde is obviously the most productive back Tulane University has ever seen," Scelfo said. "He's a tremendous football player - he's durable, he's dependable and there's nothing that will sidetrack him at the next level."

Moore, who will graduate from Tulane this May with a degree in accounting and finance after completing 24 hours this semester, is looking forward to the challenges of the next level.

"I feel great," Moore said. "I'm happy to be a Viking and excited about the opportunity I'm getting. I can't wait to get there. The scenario is the same as when I came to Tulane. It's not time to relax. You have to go out and work and prove yourself. I'm getting an opportunity and that's all I need to know."

Moore and Losman were two of 10 total Conference USA players selected in the 2004 NFL Draft.

-- Roll Wave! --